AP: 'Albany One of the Nation's Most Crooked State Capitals'

 

By The Associated Press

New York lawmakers are nearing the end of their 2016 session and it's looking like they will once again fail to address, in any significant way, the wave of corruption that has made Albany one of the nation's most crooked state capitals.

So many lawmakers have been forced from office for alleged misconduct or crimes — including the former Assembly speaker and Senate leader in just the past year — that government reform advocates have taken to calling this Albany's "Watergate moment."

"But all Albany apparently is willing to do is write a parking ticket to the Watergate burglars because they were double-parked," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Instead, lawmakers are divided even on small reforms. A proposal to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that, if passed, would allow judges to strip the pensions of corrupt lawmakers still hasn't passed, despite support in both chambers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed tighter campaign finance rules and limits on lawmakers' outside income, but they have little serious support in the Legislature. 

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Source: Observer-Dispatch